The Reason
by SpiderSilkTales
Summary: Megatron is displeased with Soundwave's performance lately. He tortures Soundwave. In the end, he finds out Soundwave's secret. The secret behind his mask. What is the reason for this mask? His lack of speech? Find out by reading! NOW A TWOSHOT! Please review! *Credit to SilhouetteSeeker for Soundwave's face*
1. Chapter 1

"You've failed me once again, Soundwave." Megatron quietly told the third in command. However, he was inwardly seething. His communications officer nodded, turning back to his monitor system, but was stopped when his leader grabbed his arm and whipped him back around.

Behind his mask, Soundwave winced. Megatron's grip was very tight, and it was bending the thin metal of his arm.

"Once too many, I believe."

Soundwave gasped in pain as he was dragged through control centers, his arm being pulled from his chassis. He was taken to the Decepticon leader's berthroom, the owner shutting and locking the door. Soundwave's eyes widened so that, if you looked closely, you could see them behind his mask.

"{Soundwave: Requests Information}" Soundwave warbled in an entirely autotuned voice.

"Oh, poor, naive Soundwave," Megatron cooed in the same gentle yet hateful tone. He slowly scraped a sharp digit down the outer casing of Laserbeak. The small, bird-like creature quivered, and Megatron ripped her off of her host. Throwing her against a wall, he laughed. He traced the purple glowing lines on Soundwave's exposed abdomen softly, causing the receiving mech to shiver.

"Hmm... we're going to have fun today, Soundwave."

0o0o0o0o0o0

Earth hours later, Megatron had finished torturing his victim. Energon was pooling, even flooding his floor, but he paid it no mind. He was too busy staring at his prisoner's mask.

Soundwave had tried his best to contain his cries of pain, but couldn't. He didn't want to look down, for he would see his destroyed chassis. He was forced to stare at the opposite wall, where Laserbeak lay lifelessly on the floor.

"Let's see what's behind that mask of yours, shall we?" Megatron teased.

He grabbed the mask, cracking it in half. Wrenching it off, Megatron paid no attention to the owner's scream as it was ripped from its helm.

"Open your optics or I'll open them for you!" Megatron commanded, no longer using his gentle voice.

Slowly, Soundwave opened his optics, still not looking at his leader. Megatron gasped.

"You... you're but a youngling! How... how old are you?!"

"S-sixteen in human terms, my lord." Soundwave said, using his real voice. Despite not using it in 20,000 years, it was a smooth tenor.

Soundwave inwardly smirked through the pain in his entire chassis. However, on the outside, his eyes were filled with fear and pain. Megatron was staring.

Soundwave's face was a light gray; lighter than any other Decepticon. He had no battle scars, making him look like fragile china. His lips were slightly parted out of fear. But what Megatron was staring at was his eyes. They were the biggest, most emotional eyes he had ever seen. They were almond shaped, making him look very childish. Most of all, the color. They were a soft amber, unlike other Decepticons, who had bright red or purple. They were staring at him intently.

Megatron smirked. "Well, Soundwave. Looks like we have something to share with the rest of the Nemesis, mmm?"

Soundwave shook his head, desperately trying to delay an inevitable outcome. Megatron laughed menacingly, once again dragging Soundwave. With his new wounds still open, he whimpered. Megatron dragged him into the main control room, where every Decepticon was patiently waiting for their master, whom had called a meeting.

The leader hung Soundwave by his arm, showing him to the entire crew. All was silent as they stared at his face. So silent... then it was broken.

It started with one Vehicon. Then two. Then the entire army was laughing at 'the mighty' Soundwave's position. They were jeering at him and calling him names he didn't understand, as he was even younger than the Vehicons.

****He covered his face in shame. This... this maltreatment. That was exactly why had covered up his face and stopped speaking all those years ago. He realized that he'd never fit in, and willingly hung in the arms of his forever master, listening to the laughing for the rest of eternity.


	2. Chapter 2

Soundwave tried to drown out the sounds of the snickering mechs as he crept to his berthroom. His hands were desperately trying to hide his face, denying that he be laughed at any longer. As he walked into the dark room, he noticed Lazerbeak resting on her perch, her wing sticking out at an odd angle. His eyes softened as he gently stroked her tiny helm.

Soundwave lay on his berth, still stunned from the outrageous roars of the crowd. What was so intensely hilarious about him that made others jeer? He remembered the first time he ever asked himself that question...

~~FLASHBACK~~

Soundwave had never been out of his home before. His mother had insisted on hiding him. It was not until he had reached the age of 5 solar cycles that she trusted him with the information... the 'why'.

"Soundwave?" A sweet motherly femme called to her young mechling. Said mechling looked up from his Cyber-Puzzle to answer.

"Yes?" The femme sighed with anxiety.

"I want to tell you why you cannot be allowed out of doors."

The little mechling crawled over to her and sat in her lap, cuddling into her chassis.

"Do you know the rule of Prezzion?" Prezzion was the Cybertronian region that they lived in. Soundwave nodded innocently.

"Only two mechlings are allowed to a residence at one time."

The femme smiled sweetly. "Yes, that's right. Well, you know that you have two older mechlings. If broken, he rule states that... the third child shall be offlined in front of the entire region... painfully and brutally." She paused as her youngling's optics widened in fear. "The reason I keep you hidden away is because... they will offline you."

Soundwave was scared out of his processor. He was about to break out in coolant tears, but held back. He had to stay strong, for his slowly offlining mother, who was reaching the ending stages of her online-span.

"Yes, m-" he was cut off as a sharp noise rapped on their main doorway, just next to where they were sitting. The femme's optics widened, not unlike her mechling's had done so recently. She quickly shoved him under their berth as the intruders barged in.

"Where is the mechling?!" One mech demanded, pointing his heat cannon at her spark. She shook her head.

"I-I don't know what-"

"WHERE IS HE?!" The femme's eyes subconsciously flitted to the berth where Soundwave was hiding, frightened by the booming voices and scary officers. She gave him a comforting glance, trying to make it quick, but to no avail. One officer caught her glance and followed her gaze to the wide amber optics underneath the berth. The officer whispered something to the one with the heat cannon. They chuckled and strode to the mechling, lifting him up by his childishly large helm. He cried out in fear.

The officer, brandishing Soundwave like a prize, walked out into the courtyard outside of the house. Another officer blew some sort of trumpet, and other Prezzion residences crowded into the streets at the law. The officer used his booming voice once again.

"This mechling was found in residence 237! He is, in fact, a third mechling! This is considered a threat to the society and its population control! We will now terminate him to honor the law of Prezzion!"

His heat cannon pointed at Soundwave's tiny spark chamber and heated up for the shot. The femme was crying and screaming, trying to escape the guards' arms. Finally, she broke out and ran to her mechling. Just as the heat cannon was about to fire, she wrenched herself in front of Soundwave. The shot blew out her spark chamber.

Soundwave's optics filled with coolant, his processor unable to cope with the surge of emotions and pain ripping through it. His spark felt like a million knives were continuously stabbing and ripping through it with their sharp edges.

And then, all of a sudden, it all stopped. He felt nothing at all, no urges to scream or struggle. He was completely devoid of emotions.

The officers felt no need to offline a mechling that would likely never get a sparkmate with no emotions, therefore not presenting any threat to the population. He was left to live with other abandoned mechlings.

They would laugh at him, because he was a third mechling. He was not meant to be online. No one wanted him. His face was suddenly everywhere, as a laughingstock and source of entertainment. Soon, the news spread that a mechling had been sparked with no reason to be online. It spread its way all through Cybertron. He was one of the most known mechs on the planet... just not for the reason he has once hoped.

One day, he was forced to travel to the energon market to fetch food for the orphanage. Waves of jeering laughter followed him as he walked. The next day, the orphanage reported a missing mechling.

Soundwave had decided to run away. His processor had returned to its normal emotional state. He remembered the pain that had followed the femme's offlining. He acquired a mask to hide his face, successfully tricking every Cybertronian he encountered that he was not the well-known (now 'missing') mechling.

He searched for Megatronus.

Once he found Megatronus, the - now 10 solar cycles of age - mechling was welcomed into Megatronus's life.

He remembered asking himself that awful question.

_Why do they laugh at me?_

~~END OF FLASHBACK~~

Soundwave knew now why they laughed. They recognized his face from the pictures. The "little mech that isn't really there". He let the pooling coolant pour out of his large eyes in waterfalls.

He would never again be treated like he was online.

He was not meant to be online.

He had no reason to be online.

That was why. That was why, all this time, he refused to reveal his face to any mech or femme on Cybertron.

That was it.

That was...

The Reason.


End file.
